"Bloodline potential, third order!"

Looking at the dim test stele in front of him, Luo Chuan looked lost, and a self-deprecating smile hung on the corner of his mouth.

His fists clenched and released, his nails digging into his palms again and again—as if he wanted to grasp the invisible opportunity, but could do nothing but let it slip out of his palms like loaches.

"Xiao Langjun, your name is Luo Chuan, right?" Next to the stone monument, a middle-aged man dressed in a teaching style said in a polite and respectful tone, "Thank you very much for your willingness to recognize and apply for our Tianyang Academy.

"Unfortunately, there are so many outstanding young people who have signed up this year. Although your performance and the letter of recommendation written for you by Commander Xu are impressive, we still have to regret to tell you that you do not meet the admission criteria of Tianyang Academy, and we are unable to provide you with a place to enroll."

At this time, behind Luo Chuan, hundreds of cultivators were lined up like a long dragon.

They whispered, their voices small but difficult to hide the tension and anxiety in their hearts, and their faces were complicated.

"I remember that in previous years, as long as the bloodline potential reached the third order, the three major academies would choose arbitrarily. But this year, alas, the competition is so fierce that even the bar has been raised!"

"It's not because Zhao Guo is at war with the Yanling Clan recently, and all the scattered cultivators in the country have been forcibly conscripted into the army, and only academy students can be exempted from service. Look behind us, in order to avoid military service, even the old man in the age of the sixtieth year has come to sign up."

"Hey, what can I do? Last year, because I didn't have a recommendation, I was rejected by all three major academies in Chaoyang City. This year, it took me a full hundred taels of silver to get a letter of recommendation from Wu Jiaoxi. Am I going to go back again in vain and repeat the mistakes of the past?"

「……」

The words of these people fell into Luo Chuan's ears like sharp arrows piercing his heart, and every sentence had a piercing edge, which made him extremely irritable.

Before coming to Tianyang Academy, he had already gone to Forget Worries Academy and Yunlang Academy one after another, but they were all ruthlessly turned away.

In the Lingxiao world, the bloodline is supreme.

From the moment of birth, the bloodline is like an imprint, deeply engraved in everyone's body, almost determining a person's cultivation talent and potential, and even their future destiny.

The higher the potential of the bloodline, it often means that it is more affinity with the aura of heaven and earth, or the physique is stronger than ordinary people, or the operation efficiency of the true element is higher than that of others.

It also means that it is easier for them to attain a higher state of cultivation and therefore a higher social status.

In fact, Luo Chuan's third-order bloodline talent was not too bad. After all, it was impossible for Commander Xu to write a recommendation letter to a complete cultivation wastewood, and doing so would only make him embarrassed.

Luo Chuan naively thought that becoming a student of the academy was a sure thing.

He had already drawn a picture of the future in his heart, fantasizing that in the future, he would be able to rise to the top as a student of the academy and take root in the upper class of Chaoyang City.

At that time, he will have a spacious courtyard house, and he will be able to bring his mother, who has never worn silk clothes all his life, and give birth to some big fat boys with his gentle and virtuous wife, and watch them chase and fight in the courtyard as carefree as he did when he was a child.

However, the world is much more complicated than he imagined.

The white-haired young man was right, in addition to the formal assessment, the three major academies did hide some invisible thresholds.

For example, when Luo Chuan went to the Forgotten Worry Academy, he was stopped by a handyman guarding the door.

The miscellaneous servant accused him of being untidy and unable to enter the solemn and solemn academy, believing that this would tarnish the sacred atmosphere of the academy.

Hearing this, Luo Chuan worked hard to tidy up his clothes for a long time under the scorching sun, but the handyman still shook his head again and again, expressing his dissatisfaction.

About a quarter of an hour later, a fat young man dressed in bright clothes and covered in gold ornaments came up.

He greeted the handyman with a smile on his face, and then handed over a beautiful box, and said in his mouth: "This is the local specialty of my hometown, Wudao tea, a little care, and please laugh at it."

The miscellaneous servant who had a cold attitude towards Luo Chuan before

, but at the moment he smiled from ear to ear, like a rotten persimmon flower in full bloom.

While saying, "How embarrassing, it's so polite," he skillfully hid the box of Enlightenment Tea in his arms, and then enthusiastically let the fat man enter the academy.

Luo Chuan stood in place, watching this scene, struggling in his heart.

He has a habitual little movement - whenever he is upset, he always likes to rub his hands against each other.

At this moment, his hands were like drilling wood for fire, and his palms were so hot that they were almost smoking.

He was deeply convinced that the fat man's behavior was immoral and full of contempt for it. However, he did not want to give up the opportunity to take the entrance examination because of this, and did not want his future to be ruined.

Eventually, his mother's expectant look came to his mind, and his self-motivation temporarily triumphed over his inner moral purity.

Unfortunately, he had no other valuables other than the silk garment on his body.

Of course, he couldn't bribe with the old pots and pans in his luggage.

After much deliberation, he finally took a deep breath, took out some broken silver from the cloth bag given by the white-haired youth, and with an embarrassed smile like a mask on his face, he shoved the silver into the hands of the handyman.

Then, like a frightened rabbit, he covered his face and quickly ran into the shade of the Forgotten Worry Academy.

His heart was full of shame, for fear that this kind of embarrassing thing would be seen by others, just like the *** in the tick bar who was afraid of meeting acquaintances when picking up customers.

……

For another example, when Luo Chuan went to Yunlang Academy, he witnessed a long queue of thousands of cultivators who participated in the assessment. The procession started from the main building of the college and winded its way around the lake until it stretched across the street outside the college.

The crowd was crowded and the voices were boiling.

Luo Chuan held the letter of recommendation and silently stood at the end of the line.

However, the pace of the procession was as slow as a snail, and each step seemed to take a great deal of effort. A few hours passed, and Luo Chuan finally moved into the gate of the academy from across the street with difficulty.

The people in front and behind began to curse impatiently, complaining about the long wait.

Luo Chuan couldn't help but feel anxious in his heart, he looked up at the sky, only to see that it was getting late, and night was about to fall. He was worried that the college was about to close, and if he couldn't participate in the assessment in time, he would have to queue up again tomorrow.

At this moment, a group of young men in fine clothes came like a swarm of bees, laughing and scolding, pushing and shoving, trying to squeeze to the front of the line.

Seeing this, the rest of the team expressed their displeasure and tried to stop them.

However, the young men didn't care, they laughed, easily took out a wooden sign from their pockets, held it high above their heads, and showed it off to everyone.

The wooden plaque is carved with delicate patterns, and a striking character "Xian" shines brightly in the center.

They triumphantly declared that this was a special "advance order" issued by the College, and those who held this order could ignore the queue and jump directly into the queue, enjoying priority

The privilege to participate in the assessment.

Everyone sensed the strong True Yuan aura emanating from the wooden plaque, and confirmed that it was not a forgery, so they had no choice but to retreat, allowing the group of broad young people to hold their heads high and stride forward.

On the first day, Luochuan did not arrive;

The next day, Luo Chuan went to the gate of the academy to line up before dawn, but he didn't get in line;

On the third day, Luo Chuan simply didn't go back to the inn to sleep, and squatted at the gate of the academy all night, still not arranging;

……

Later, Luo Chuan accidentally learned that most of the cultivators who were currently able to successfully participate in the assessment at Yunlang Academy held the so-called "advance order".

And it is not difficult to obtain this "advance order".

Several teachers of Yunlang Academy openly set up a small stall at the back door of the academy, and two taels of silver could be exchanged for a token there.

In Zhaoguo, two taels of silver were enough to buy four stones of high-quality rice, which was just a drop in the bucket for wealthy families, but it was a lot of money for ordinary people.

It is rumored that every

On the occasion of annual enrollment, Yunlang Academy can earn a considerable income through this means.

Although Luo Chuan had sworn before that even if he died, even if he jumped off the cliff, he would never use a little silver from the bandits.

He had originally planned to go to Longji Mountain and return the cloth bag containing the silver to the white-haired young man intact.

However, after experiencing the torment and torture of waiting in long lines under the scorching sun for several days, Luo Chuan finally couldn't bear it anymore.

On the fifth day, he resolutely went straight to the stall at the back entrance of the college and spent two taels of silver to buy a "advance order".

Transformed into the "privileged person" he hated the most in the past few days.

As he strode forward with the token in hand, he caught a glimpse of the crowd who could only line up silently on the sidelines, and an indescribable sense of refreshment welled up in his heart.

It was as if he were a victorious general, and those in line became a guard of honor to welcome him, respectful and obedient.

"No wonder everyone wants to be powerful," he sighed to himself, "It's so nice to have privileges!"

…………

At this moment, after Luo Chuan was rejected by the three academies, there was very little silver in the cloth bag.

He stood in the scorching sun, rubbing his hands anxiously to and fro, his heart mixed with mixed feelings.

On the one hand, he fell into confusion about the future -

How to make a living in the future, how to explain all this to her mother, and how to soothe her heart that was disappointed by herself.

On the other hand, the silver from the bandits became a heavy burden on his heart—

With nothing to do, how can he repay this huge amount.

"Next, Gongsun Hao!"

The voice of Tianyang Academy's teaching was loud and clear, interrupting Luo Chuan's chaotic thoughts.

"Gongsun Hao? Why is he here?"

"How can his dignified 'immortal body', a monk of the Fifth Realm, the eldest son of the Gongsun family, come to compete with us ordinary monks for admission places? It's just not going to leave us alive!"

"I'm afraid his cultivation has surpassed most of the teachings in the academy!"

"Do you really think he wants to come to the academy? He's just here to go through the motions and put on a name to avoid military service."

「……」

Before Gongsun Hao's figure appeared, there were already discussions around him.

The name "Gongsun Hao", Luo Chuan had also heard of it before, and he was a high-profile figure in Zhaoguo.

He came from a prominent background and came from the Gongsun family, the largest family of gate lords in the Zhao Kingdom.

In the Lingxiao Realm, where bloodline is respected, a person's family background is often closely linked to his cultivation talent and even the upper limit of his life's development.

Like the Gongsun family, if you bring someone out at random, you will have at least fifth- or sixth-order bloodline potential.

And when the power of the bloodline is so strong that it is extremely strong, it will give birth to extraordinary special physiques such as the "Immortal Body", the "Fire Spirit Body", and the "Demon God Body".

I saw Gongsun Hao stepping on the flying sword and slowly landing in front of the stone tablet.

It is seven feet tall and has a wolf's waist; The square collar of the black coat, the dragon and the phoenix.

He stood there, as if standing out from the crowd, and suddenly became the focus of everyone's attention.

He reached out and touched the stele.

As soon as the fingertips touched the cold, hard surface, the stele emitted a strong light, like the rising sun, scorching and dazzling.

There was a majestic energy in that light, as if ten thousand dragons were writhing in it, roaring and breaking through the restraints.

The crowd was stunned by the sudden turn of events.

Some people covered their eyes with their hands, and some people involuntarily retreated again and again.

Soon, the stele began to tremble violently in the strong light, and cracks spread on the surface of the stele, dense like spider webs. Eventually, with a deafening roar, the stele exploded

, debris scattered.

Seeing this scene, the teacher who was in charge of testing the bloodline talent was stunned, dumbfounded, and couldn't come back to his senses for a long time.

Only Gongsun Hao, his expression is always calm as water, and he is not shocked.

He turned his gaze to Jiao Xi and asked in an indifferent tone, "Did I pass the test?"

The teacher was stunned for a moment, then stammered and replied, "Dang...... Of course, you ...... You are now a student of Tianyang Academy."

He didn't even realize that he had used honorifics in his words.

Gongsun Hao nodded expressionlessly, then stepped on the flying sword and left without stopping for a moment.

The academy exam, which Luo Chuan and others regarded as the most important thing in life, was an ordinary trivial matter similar to eating and drinking water for Gongsun Hao. Maybe in his heart, he would also feel that he made a special trip to Tianyang Academy to participate in the assessment, delaying his cultivation time.

…………

The mansion of Hou Zhen Shaofu is located in the northeast corner of Chaoyang City.

The transportation here is convenient and quiet.

Many of the palaces of princes and generals were built next to each other.

That afternoon, Luo Chuan used the last bit of silver taels given by the white-haired young man to learn from the fat man he had seen in the Forget Worry Academy, and bought a box of "Enlightenment Tea" that he thought was very valuable, and carried it in his hand, preparing to use it as a meeting gift for the future Yue family.

Although he was unsuccessful in entering the school, whether it was out of politeness or out of admiration, he felt that it was necessary for him to meet his father-in-law and fiancée.

When he explained his intention to the housekeepers at the door, one of them immediately entered the house through the side door and informed the owner.

Luo Chuan waited patiently outside the door, trying to restrain his urge to rub his hands.

He repeatedly rehearsed in his heart how to greet his fiancée Zhen Huishu once she appeared at the door, so as to leave a good impression on her, neither looking timid and timid, nor frivolous and rude.

Is it a direct compliment to her beautiful face?

Why don't you start by saying something else, such as "It's a really nice day"?

About a quarter of an hour later, the door of the Hou Mansion slowly opened.

However, what appeared in front of him was not his fiancée Zhen Huishu.

It is a handsome boy wearing a tasseled hat and a green robe, gently shaking the Jinchuan fan in his hand, and his temperament is graceful.

"In Xia Cangnan Taiyan, he is the son of Cangnan Thorn Shi Taihong," Jun Gongzi's voice was gentle and polite, "Dare to ask the name of the virtuous brother?"

Facing this noble-born son, Luo Chuan's momentum unconsciously weakened a little.

He was stunned for a moment before replying, "I ...... My name is Luo Chuan, I am from Yuwei Village, and my father is from the Zhenbei Army...... Wu Chang Luohu."

He couldn't help but wonder in his mind why this prince of Tantai appeared in the Zhen Mansion, and personally came to open the door for him.

Could it be that he wanted to pursue his fiancée Zhen Huishu and deliberately show his might in front of him?

Immediately, he laughed self-deprecatingly, thinking that he was probably shocked by the other party's aura to be so nervous and cranky.

He reminded himself that Zhen Huishu's father was a high-ranking Guan Neihou, and it was common for guests in the house to be like clouds. The prince of Tantai opened the door for him, maybe it was just that he was kind and had no other meaning.

Under the guidance of the prince of the Tai, the two walked through the gate, passed through the exquisite hanging flower door, entered the spacious hall, and then bypassed the quaint marble interstitial screen to the bright and spacious main house compound.

Luo Chuan followed behind the prince of Tantai, walking cautiously at every step, not daring to speak easily, and not daring to wander his eyes at will, for fear that his vulgar behavior would attract the ridicule and disdain of others.

He thought to himself in his heart: My fiancée must be a fairy from heaven, so that she can live in this gorgeous mansion like Qionglou and jade; How fortunate I am for a poor boy to have the opportunity to marry her and spend this life together.

In the main house of the mansion, Luo Chuan met his quasi-father-in-law, Zhen Shaofu, Hou of Guannei.

His sideburns were slightly gray, he was dressed in brocade clothes, and his face

There is a distinct and hideous scar, which seems to silently tell the story of his desperate killing on the battlefield.

Zhen Shaofu warmly entertained Luo Chuan and Yu Taiyan, invited them to sit down at the table, and waved the maid to come and offer tea.

The maid walked lightly and came with a delicate teatray in her hand, on which were placed three emerald teacups, as clear as jade.

She gracefully placed the teacups in front of the three of them, then stepped back lightly.

Zhen Shaofu picked up the teacup, gently blew the hot air on the tea surface, and then raised his glass to Luo Chuan.

Seeing this, Luo Chuan also hurriedly picked up the teacup and tasted tea with Zhen Shaofu.

He tasted it carefully, and immediately felt a fresh aroma of tea spread in his mouth, which was refreshing.

What surprised Luo Chuan even more was that this tea had made his perception of the aura of heaven and earth several times sharper. He felt as if the aura around him had been summoned, rushing towards him, giving him an indescribable sense of comfort.

Zhen Shaofu looked at Luo Chuan's surprised expression, smiled and introduced, "This tea is called 'Qingling Tea', which can not only refresh and awaken the mind, but also enhance the cultivator's perception and absorption of the aura of heaven and earth.

"For cultivators, this is a rare treasure. Although the common 'Enlightenment Tea' on the market is also good, it is much inferior to this 'Qingling Tea'."

Luo Chuan's heart felt as if he was hit by an invisible thunderbolt.

He quickly lowered his head, trying to hide the embarrassed expression on his face, not wanting others to notice the panic in his heart.

He was about to take out the newly purchased "Enlightenment Tea" and give it to his father-in-law-to-be.

However, hearing Zhen Shaofu's words, the "Enlightenment Tea" in his hand instantly turned into a hot potato - he couldn't wait to dig a hole in the ground and hide it immediately.

However, Zhen Shaofu didn't seem to notice the awkward expression on Luo Chuan's face.

He stood up suddenly, held Luo Chuan's hand tightly, and said with emotion: "Nephew Luo Xian, your father Luo Hu's life-saving grace on the battlefield back then, I will never forget it. If he hadn't sacrificed his life to save him, I, Zhen Shaofu, would not be where I am today."

Immediately afterwards, he asked with concern, "Nephew Luo Xian, how are you and your mother living in Fishtail Village?" Are you alright?"

When Luo Chuan mentioned the severe drought that Yuwei Village had suffered two years ago, Zhen Shaofu's eyes instantly moistened, and his voice trembled slightly.

He blamed himself: "It's all my fault for being negligent and only caring about the affairs of the capital, and failing to take care of the benefactor's family in time. If I had known of your plight earlier, I would have done what I could to help."

Luo Chuan listened to Zhen Shaofu's words, and his heart was moved.

He thought that the white-haired young man should have been a thief and was used to speculating on others with the greatest malice, so he expressed his doubts about Zhen Shaofu's character.

But now it seems that Zhen Shaofu is worthy of being his father's closest comrade-in-arms back then, and his personality is indeed worthy of respect and trust.

Zhen Shaofu pulled Luo Chuan and greeted him for a long time.

Yutaihiko sat next to him and listened silently, with a faint smile on his face, making it impossible to see his mood.

Towards the end of the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled over the courtyard of the Zhen family, covering the entire mansion with a golden coat.

Luo Chuan originally thought that Zhen Shaofu would mention the marriage contract at this time, and even deep down he was faintly looking forward to meeting his fiancée.

However, Zhen Shaofu's next words were like a thunderbolt from the blue-

I only heard him say slowly: "Nephew Luo Xian, your father Luo Hu is the closest comrade-in-arms in my life, and he is also my savior. In my heart, his son is like my own.

"My daughter Zhen Huishu will leave the cabinet the day after tomorrow and tie the knot with this Taiwanese son.

"Since you also happen to be in Chaoyang City, then I sincerely invite you to attend her wedding as a relative.

"She should be looking forward to receiving the blessing of your brother from afar."

Summer seems to have come to an abrupt end at this moment

Finish.

It was as if the north wind was whistling, the sky was cloudy, and the snowflakes were falling one after another.

Luo Chuan held the box of "Enlightenment Tea" hidden behind him with one hand, and tightly grasped the marriage book in his pocket with the other hand - the bright red paper was crumpled by him, and it was estimated that it was soaked with the smell of sweat.

A voice urged in his heart:

You should take out this marriage letter immediately and put it in front of these two people!

Tell them that it is not proper for them to do this, according to the "orders of their parents and the words of the matchmakers."

Zhen Huishu's real groom, it should be you!

But Luo Chuan didn't say anything after all.

He lowered his head, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the red paper into holes. In the deathly silence, he heard himself whisper in a voice that was almost mosquito-like:

"That...... That's congratulations!"

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